


Day 8- Hypothermia

by Broken_Clover



Series: 12 Days of Whump [8]
Category: Guilty Gear
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Huddling For Warmth, Hypothermia, M/M, Nudity, Sol Swears A Lot, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 23:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: Axl is always finding new ways to complicate Sol's life.





	Day 8- Hypothermia

**Author's Note:**

> This pairing is a bit of a guilty pleasure, I can fully admit that
> 
> In the Japanese version, Axl refers to Sol as 'danna,' which has multiple meanings including as a title of authority and as a term for one's husband. I've seen it be translated as 'chief' but I thought 'partner' better fit the ambiguity.

Some days, Sol was well convinced that the world was always trying to complicate his life. No matter how hard he tried to make things simple and straightforward, something inevitably tossed a spanner in the works and fucked up his plans. And it seemed like more often than not, that spanner was named Axl.

Sol Badguy could put up with quite a bit, despite his gruff exterior. He’d watched the world go to shit, dealt with the stick up Ky’s ass for far too long, and killed so many Gears he could make a drinking game out of it. Still, somehow, the little time-traveling imp managed to drive him up the wall.

So of _course_ as soon as he decided to take some alone time to hunt Gears up in Finland, he gets a magic-com call not one day after getting there.

“He-hey, partner! Guess who finally got the com working?”

“Good for you.” Sol replied, with a sarcastic bite. “Thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Right, yeah, sorry. Um, anyway, I just got dumped out on some bloody _freezing_ mountain smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, But the com tracker says you’re like a few kilometers away! The hell are you doing this far north?”

“Gear Hunting.” Sol was already getting a headache. He knew exactly what Axl was trying to get at. “Just get to the point already.”

“Eh? Oh. Mind if I swing by wherever you’re at? I’m really not dressed for this weather, figure you’ve probably got at least a cabin or somethin’, yeah?”

The Gear groaned, covering his face with his free hand. “Just get the hell over here, I’m already there. Just follow the com signal and try not to die.”

“Aye-aye, partner!” Axl’s voice was remarkably cheery, despite the circumstances. He paused to sneeze. “Gross...get some nice warm blankets or a fire or _something_ before I make it down there, I’m already going numb here.”

Sol reclined back in the rickety chair that had come with the cabin. At least Ky was useful for helping him find places to crash on hunts. Saved him the effort of having to talk to people. Sure, he had no trouble sleeping in the woods- he generated enough heat to keep himself warm pretty much all the time, anyway- but admittedly, it was nice to have something other than dirt to sleep on.

At that, he glanced across the single room and realized, with more than a hint of dismay, that he was going to have to find a way to share a single lumpy bed, two worn pillows, and one thin blanket once Axl showed up. It was not likely that the man was going to leave anytime soon, unless he managed to timeslip once again, which would make him someone else’s problem for the time being. Otherwise, he was probably going to have to give up the blanket and at least one pillow, unless he wanted Axl sharing the bed. Which he very much did not.

He briefly considered going out and trying to find Axl, but it seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Axl was a grown-ass man, despite his behavior. He’d be fine all by his damn self.

Alright, maybe that was a little too mean. Sol couldn’t exactly fault the guy for ending up in the middle of nowhere, it wasn’t something he could control. He just couldn’t help but be at least a little pissed that his quiet trip was now going to be far noisier than he would have liked.

Instead of stewing over it forever, he decided to step out and start drawing some water up from the nearby half-frozen well. At least there was water to be had so far north. He presumed part of it must have come from the frozen lake that the cabin sat right by the edge of. Made for a nice view, even if he didn’t trust all 74 kilograms of his flame-spewing body to even step on it more than a few feet out. That was just asking for trouble.

Maybe if he could get some nice hot water, it’d be enough to get Axl to shut up and leave him be. He was pretty sure he’d seen some kind of tub in the closet. Axl could get warm, Sol could get some peace and quiet, and nobody had to get mauled.

“Oi, partner! Partner!”

“Speak of the fuckin’ devil…” The bucket was left by the well as Sol stood back up. “Should’ve figured-”

The Gear looked back up, only to find the other man waving furiously from the other side of the lake. Axl was a garish blue-and-red smear against the tranquil white landscape, making him easy to spot even if his always-too-loud voice didn’t do the job well enough.

After realizing that he’d been spotted, Axl offered another wave and began running over the ice towards the cabin. “Partner!”

Sol resisted the urge to shout at him. What the hell was he doing?! Did he even look before he ran? Was he _that_ desperate to get out of the cold? Maybe it’d gotten to the point where it was messing with his brain.

“Partner!” Axl called again, bringing Sol back to attention. “Part-”

With his enhanced sense of hearing, Sol could make out a tiny little crackle a split second before Axl suddenly vanished from sight.

“What the-” The words fell out of his mouth before his brain decided to work. “Oh, son of a- !”

He hadn’t been wearing anything different than his usual clothing, and his shoes skid on the slick surface as he sprinted. Because the universe hated him, the ice held up perfectly all the way to the middle of the lake. The hole that had been punched into it was too small for him to fit. Sol didn’t think as he knelt down and slammed a fist into the ice, making a chunk splinter off and start sinking into the inky-blue depths. He could make out a vague shape further below, less from the sight and more from the quickly-dwindling heat signature that his fire affinity made him keen to.

The lake felt cold as fuck as he dove into it, and he couldn’t think of much of a better term to suit it. Sol could feel his body involuntarily reacting to the temperature drop, dialing up his internal thermostat to keep him from freezing to death. At least, it meant that he didn’t immediately lose all strength in his limbs as he began swimming, even if instinct was telling him to resurface and find a place that was easier to rewarm himself in.

It didn’t take long for him to catch sight of an outstretched arm and grab onto it. Axl was stiff and motionless in the water, presumably still in shock from the cold. Even with all the time he must have spent trekking in the snow, the frigid water was something else entirely. His core temperature was already dropping.

Sol breached the surface loudly, taking in a deep breath as he dragged himself and the limp body out of the lake. He wiggled across the surface for a few feet until he was sure the ice was thick enough to stand on, pulling Axl along the entire time.

“Shit, shit, _shit_ -”

Axl couldn’t even manage to stand upright as he was basically dragged back to the shack. His body was still stiff and sluggish. He couldn’t grab onto Sol’s arm, so the Gear did it for him.

Sol hardly waited before the cabin door slammed shut to start peeling the soaked, half-frozen clothing off of his companion’s body, and then his own. He thought over the sentiment of stripping another man naked for all of one second before he went back to work, more concerned with the concept of someone dying from hypothermia than the idea of seeing someone else without their clothing on, even if he was also naked.

“Still with me, kid?”

All he got in reply was a slurred mumble of incoherency. That definitely was not a good sign.

Sol had to hold himself back, keep himself from impulsively slipping into his Dragon Install. If the sudden spike in body heat didn’t literally burn Axl’s body to a crisp, it would be too much a change too quickly, and could make his heart go out of rhythm.

Instead, he moved the both of them to the bed, settling the other man down in his lap while tossing the blanket over the both of them. Sol kept his hand warm as he pressed it against a damp, cold chest, letting the warm radiate against the skin. He could feel a heartbeat, slightly weaker than it should have been, pulsing under his touch.

Despite the slurring and confusion, Axl tried to pull away as a hand was very gently wrapped around his neck to funnel in more heat. Instead of trying to force it, Sol let go, instead pulling slightly and letting Axl rest his head against his own chest, in the secure little spot below his throat. Cold, damp strands of blonde hair plastered onto both of them.

“Shh. Stop wiggling.” Sol traced little circles of warmth on the other’s skin, trying not to rub too hard. “God, look at what you’ve done to yourself, you idiot.”

“Hnnh…”

Because the universe absolutely wanted to spite him, Sol’s evening was exactly as he’d wanted it to be- incredibly quiet. He only left the room once, to retrieve the forgotten bucket of water from the well. Axl hadn’t been too happy about that, for all the weak grip and incoherent whines he could manage, but he seemed far more willing to forgive him when he had something hot to drink, and could immediately go back to snuggling for warmth.

There was definitely something weird about it, but not quite as weird as Sol would have anticipated. It definitely would have felt weird if he was doing this with Ky, or with Sin, but his relationship with Axl was a bit more complicated. Sol wasn’t good at emotions in general. Axl had always been rather unsubtle about his own feelings- he called him ‘partner,’ for crying out loud- though half the time Sol was convinced that he was just ‘like that’ and had no filter to speak of. It really was hard to tell. Axl could get on his nerves a lot more than the average person, but Sol also found that he could be himself a lot more around the guy than pretty much anyone else.

Emotions were complicated. Emotions were hard. It was why he didn’t like to think about them.

Axl made a little sleepy noise by his side, trying to take in more heat as he was getting too tired to sit up. Sol moved to lie down, to make himself easier to huddle up against. As much as he had despised the thought initially, it seemed that they were going to have to share a bed for the night, with both of their clothes drying in another corner.

And if he was being honest with himself, Sol didn’t mind all that much.


End file.
